LIFE SKILL: Students Taylah Firth, Hayley Hannah and Charlie Steele take MPs Kevin Hogan and Chris Gulaptis through the food they've made in the new Trade Skills Centre at Grafton High School.Caitlan Charles

MP opens new high school trade skills centre

GRAFTON High School students are now being trained in a commercial kitchen thanks to the completion of the Hospitality Trade Skills Centre at the school.

Member for Page Kevin Hogan officially opened the centre with the help of Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis and was treated to a feat of scrumptious food made in the kitchen by students.

"Students who are doing these courses... what this is doing is making them job ready," Mr Hogan said. "Whether it be in the hospital sector with cafes and restaurants, the aged care sector, there are a lot of sectors where there is a great demand for people who can walk into a professional kitchen, prepare meals and make coffees.

"What's great about this is the Year 11 and 12 students who are looking at this as a potential career are getting trained now in a state-of-the-art facility.

"They can walk from Year 11 and 12, get their certificate one and two in hospitality-related courses and walk straight into a job.

"That's a wonderful thing for us to provide."

The centre at Grafton High School, which was built with a $1 million grant, is one of six under construction in the Northern Rivers.

Mr Gulaptis said the improvement to school infrastructure was an important step in helping students with their future.

"When you've got state-of-the-art facilities, they can work there, they can have the confidence to go out into the workforce, into the local community and get a job," he said.

Grafton High School principal Peter South said the improvements to the school would really help students.

"Being an old school, the opportunity to have any sort of refurbishment of facilities is very welcome, and we're lucky here to be able to have significant facility upgrades as part of the Federal Government's Trade Skills program," Mr South said.